Over the years, a wide variety of devices have been introduced for the purpose of absorbing some or all of the forces associated with collisions (or “impacts”) between objects. As used herein, the term “object” includes both inanimate objects, e.g. a projectile, and animate objects, e.g. a human being or portion of a human body. Examples of these devices include helmets and energy absorbing automobile bumpers. Other devices have been introduced for the purpose of preventing one object from penetrating another during a collision. Examples of these devices include bullet-proof vests and vehicle armor. Although the aforementioned devices are generally useful, the present inventors have determined that it would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus which handle collision-associated forces in other ways.